Mosaic: Designing Online Creative Communities for Sharing Works-in-Progress

Online creative communities allow creators to share their work with a large audience, maximizing opportunities to showcase their work and connect with fans and peers. However, sharing in-progress work can be technically and socially challenging in environments designed for sharing completed pieces. We propose an online creative community where sharing process, rather than showcasing outcomes, is the main method of sharing creative work. Based on this, we present Mosaic---an online community where illustrators share work-in-progress snapshots showing how an artwork was completed from start to finish. In an online deployment and observational study, artists used Mosaic as a vehicle for reflecting on how they can improve their own creative process, developed a social norm of detailed feedback, and became less apprehensive of sharing early versions of artwork. Through Mosaic, we argue that communities oriented around sharing creative process can create a collaborative environment that is beneficial for creative growth

Tuberculosis in Otorhinolaryngology: Clinical Presentation and Diagnostic Challenges

Tuberculosis affects all tissues of the body, although some more commonly than the others. Pulmonary tuberculosis is the most common type of tuberculosis accounting for approximately 80% of the tuberculosis cases. Tuberculosis of the otorhinolaryngeal region is one of the rarer forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis but still poses a significant clinical and diagnostic challenge. Over three years, only five out of 121 patients suspected to have tuberculosis of the otorhinolaryngeal region (cervical adenitis excluded) had Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture-proven disease. Additional 7 had histology-proven tuberculosis. Only one patient had concomitant sputum-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. We look at the various clinical and laboratory aspects of tuberculosis of the otorhinolaryngeal region that would help to diagnose this uncommon but important form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis

Bioethics and Biosecurity Education in China: Rise of a Scientific Superpower.

This chapter explores ethics, education and the life sciences in China. It is based on work conducted by the authors in two separate but complimentary projects. Barr’s observations derive from interviews and discussions in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with life scientists and policymakers in infectious-disease hospitals, university-research labs, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Ministry of Health. Zhang’s study focused on China’s governance of stem-cell research and involved interviews with scientists, ethicists and policymakers at more than 25 sites across China. Below, we set the context by describing the role of science in China’s quest to become a leading power and then consider the place of bioethics within China. We follow this with a discussion of three key areas that have impacted our work and describe some of the lessons we have taken from our experience for future research on bioethics education and biosecurity in China. We conclude with a set of suggestions about what can be done to further biosecurity awareness within China

A critical appraisal of guidelines for electronic communication between patients and clinicians: the need to modernize current recommendations

Background Patient-provider electronic communication has proliferated in recent years, yet there is a dearth of published research either leading to, or including, recommendations that improve clinical care and prevent unintended negative consequences. We critically appraise published guidelines and suggest an agenda for future work in this area. Objective To understand how existing guidelines align with current practice, evidence, and technology. Methods We performed a narrative review of provider-targeted guidelines for electronic communication between patients and providers, searching Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and PubMed databases using relevant terms. We limited the search to articles published in English, and manually searched the citations of relevant articles. For each article, we identified and evaluated the suggested practices. Results Across 11 identified guidelines, the primary focus was on technical and administrative concerns, rather than on relational communication. Some of the security practices recommended by the guidelines are no longer needed because of shifts in technology. It is unclear the extent to which the recommendations that are still relevant are being followed. Moreover, there is no guideline-cited evidence of the effectiveness of the practices that have been proposed. Conclusion Our analysis revealed major weaknesses in current guidelines for electronic communication between patients and providers: the guidelines appear to be based on minimal evidence and offer little guidance on how best to use electronic tools to communicate effectively. Further work is needed to systematically evaluate and identify effective practices, create a framework to evaluate quality of communication, and assess the relationship between electronic communication and quality of care

A whey-protein supplement increases fat loss and spares lean muscle in obese subjects: a randomized human clinical study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study evaluated a specialized whey fraction (Prolibra™, high in leucine, bioactive peptides and milk calcium) for use as a dietary supplement to enhance weight loss.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm, 12-week study. Caloric intake was reduced 500 calories per day. Subjects consumed Prolibra or an isocaloric ready-to-mix beverage 20 minutes before breakfast and 20 minutes before dinner. Body fat and lean muscle tissue were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Body weight and anthropometric measurements were recorded every 4 weeks. Blood samples were taken at the beginning and end of the study. Statistical analyses were performed on all subjects that completed (completer analysis) and all subjects that lost at least 2.25 kg of body weight (responder analysis). Within group significance was determined at <it>P </it>< 0.05 using a two-tailed paired t-test and between group significance was determined using one way analysis of covariance with baseline data as a covariate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both groups lost a significant amount of weight and the Prolibra group tended to lose more weight than the control group; however the amount of weight loss was not significantly different between groups after 12 weeks. Prolibra subjects lost significantly more body fat compared to control subjects for both the completer (2.81 vs. 1.62 kg <it>P </it>= 0.03) and responder (3.63 vs. 2.11 kg, <it>P </it>= 0.01) groups. Prolibra subjects lost significantly less lean muscle mass in the responder group (1.07 vs. 2.41 kg, <it>P </it>= 0.02). The ratio of fat to lean loss (kg fat lost/kg lean lost) was much larger for Prolibra subjects for both completer (3.75 vs. 1.05) and responder (3.39 vs. 0.88) groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Subjects in both the control and treatment group lost a significant amount of weight with a 500 calorie reduced diet. Subjects taking Prolibra lost significantly more body fat and showed a greater preservation of lean muscle compared to subjects consuming the control beverage. Because subjects taking Prolibra lost 6.1% of their body fat mass, and because a 5% reduction of body fat mass has been shown to reduce the risk of obesity related disease, the results have practical significance.</p

The Link between Agricultural Output and the States of Poverty in the Philippines: Evidence from Self-Rated Poverty Data

The high poverty incidence in the county is a concern that needs to be addressed by our policy makers. Official poverty statistics from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) shows that the reduction in poverty over the past two decades has been quite dismal from 38% in 1988 to 26% in 2009 or less than one percent reduction per year. Since poverty incidence has dynamic patterns, studies using official poverty data encounter difficulty because of limited number of data points. This study builds econometric models in analyzing the movement of poverty in the country using the quarterly self-rated poverty series of the Social Weather Stations. The first model uses Markov Switching to determine the states of poverty. It assumes two states: high and moderate states of poverty. A high 61% of the population considered themselves as poor when the country is in the state of high poverty. In times of moderate poverty, 49.5% of the population considered themselves as poor. The result shows that once the country is in the state of high poverty, it stays there for an average of 24 quarters, or six years, before moving out. The paper then builds a logistic regression model to show what determines the states of high poverty. The model shows that a one-percent increase in agricultural output in the previous quarter reduces the probability of being in the high state of poverty by about 8 percentage points, all things being the same. The study shows that poverty incidence in the country is dynamic and frequent monitoring through self-rated poverty surveys is important in order to assess the effectiveness of the government programs in reducing poverty. The self-rated poverty surveys can complement the official statistics on poverty incidence

The Link between Agricultural Output and the States of Poverty in the Philippines: Evidence from Self-Rated Poverty Data

The high poverty incidence in the county is a concern that needs to be addressed by our policy makers. Official poverty statistics from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) shows that the reduction in poverty over the past two decades has been quite dismal from 38% in 1988 to 26% in 2009 or less than one percent reduction per year. Since poverty incidence has dynamic patterns, studies using official poverty data encounter difficulty because of limited number of data points. This study builds econometric models in analyzing the movement of poverty in the country using the quarterly self-rated poverty series of the Social Weather Stations. The first model uses Markov Switching to determine the states of poverty. It assumes two states: high and moderate states of poverty. A high 61% of the population considered themselves as poor when the country is in the state of high poverty. In times of moderate poverty, 49.5% of the population considered themselves as poor. The result shows that once the country is in the state of high poverty, it stays there for an average of 24 quarters, or six years, before moving out. The paper then builds a logistic regression model to show what determines the states of high poverty. The model shows that a one-percent increase in agricultural output in the previous quarter reduces the probability of being in the high state of poverty by about 8 percentage points, all things being the same. The study shows that poverty incidence in the country is dynamic and frequent monitoring through self-rated poverty surveys is important in order to assess the effectiveness of the government programs in reducing poverty. The self-rated poverty surveys can complement the official statistics on poverty incidence

The pathogenic mechanism of the Mycobacterium ulcerans virulence factor, mycolactone, depends on blockade of protein translocation into the ER.

Infection with Mycobacterium ulcerans is characterised by tissue necrosis and immunosuppression due to mycolactone, the necessary and sufficient virulence factor for Buruli ulcer disease pathology. Many of its effects are known to involve down-regulation of specific proteins implicated in important cellular processes, such as immune responses and cell adhesion. We have previously shown mycolactone completely blocks the production of LPS-dependent proinflammatory mediators post-transcriptionally. Using polysome profiling we now demonstrate conclusively that mycolactone does not prevent translation of TNF, IL-6 and Cox-2 mRNAs in macrophages. Instead, it inhibits the production of these, along with nearly all other (induced and constitutive) proteins that transit through the ER. This is due to a blockade of protein translocation and subsequent degradation of aberrantly located protein. Several lines of evidence support this transformative explanation of mycolactone function. First, cellular TNF and Cox-2 can be once more detected if the action of the 26S proteasome is inhibited concurrently. Second, restored protein is found in the cytosol, indicating an inability to translocate. Third, in vitro translation assays show mycolactone prevents the translocation of TNF and other proteins into the ER. This is specific as the insertion of tail-anchored proteins into the ER is unaffected showing that the ER remains structurally intact. Fourth, metabolic labelling reveals a near-complete loss of glycosylated and secreted proteins from treated cells, whereas cytosolic proteins are unaffected. Notably, the profound lack of glycosylated and secreted protein production is apparent in a range of different disease-relevant cell types. These studies provide a new mechanism underlying mycolactone's observed pathological activities both in vitro and in vivo. Mycolactone-dependent inhibition of protein translocation into the ER not only explains the deficit of innate cytokines, but also the loss of membrane receptors, adhesion molecules and T-cell cytokines that drive the aetiology of Buruli ulcer

Mycobacterial RNA isolation optimized for non-coding RNA: high fidelity isolation of 5S rRNA from Mycobacterium bovis BCG reveals novel post-transcriptional processing and a complete spectrum of modified ribonucleosides

A major challenge in the study of mycobacterial RNA biology is the lack of a comprehensive RNA isolation method that overcomes the unusual cell wall to faithfully yield the full spectrum of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) species. Here, we describe a simple and robust procedure optimized for the isolation of total ncRNA, including 5S, 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and tRNA, from mycobacteria, using Mycobacterium bovis BCG to illustrate the method. Based on a combination of mechanical disruption and liquid and solid-phase technologies, the method produces all major species of ncRNA in high yield and with high integrity, enabling direct chemical and sequence analysis of the ncRNA species. The reproducibility of the method with BCG was evident in bioanalyzer electrophoretic analysis of isolated RNA, which revealed quantitatively significant differences in the ncRNA profiles of exponentially growing and non-replicating hypoxic bacilli. The method also overcame an historical inconsistency in 5S rRNA isolation, with direct sequencing revealing a novel post-transcriptional processing of 5S rRNA to its functional form and with chemical analysis revealing seven post-transcriptional ribonucleoside modifications in the 5S rRNA. This optimized RNA isolation procedure thus provides a means to more rigorously explore the biology of ncRNA species in mycobacteria.Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and TechnologyNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES017010)National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES002109)Singapore-MIT Alliance (Graduate Fellowship)Singapore. National Research Foundatio